I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cargo retaining device for vehicles having an open cargo bed.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Many vehicles, such as trucks, boats, trailers and the like include an open cargo bed designed to receive and hold cargo of various types. For certain types of cargo, especially light cargo, it is necessary to hold the cargo in the bed while the vehicle is traveling. Otherwise, the cargo may undesirably be blown or bounced from the cargo bed during travel of the vehicle.
There have been a number of previously known devices for retaining the cargo in the cargo bed. In one such device, the cargo is merely tied down by ropes, straps or the like. This particular method, however, is disadvantageous because it is time consuming and often not wholly safe or wholly effective.
A still further type of cargo retaining device comprises a net which is formed of an elastic material. This net is then attached to a vehicle such that the net overlies and extends across the cargo bed of the vehicle. A primary disadvantage of this type of previously known cargo retaining device is that the net is easily damaged not only by the cargo, but also by the environment. Furthermore, since the net is directly attached to the vehicle by hooks or the like, a great deal of stress is imparted to the net at its attachment point to the vehicle. This in turn damages the net and results in premature failure of the cargo retaining device.
A still further type of cargo retaining device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,934 to Ross. The Ross cargo retaining device comprises a net formed by crisscrossing strands of a generally inelastic material, such as nylon. A cord having a cross-sectional area substantially greater than the cross-sectional area of the strands which form the net is then provided around the outer periphery of the net. The cord is then used to secure the net to a vehicle by attaching the cord to hooks formed on the vehicle around its open cargo bed.
A primary disadvantage of the Ross cargo retaining device, however, is that it is difficult to attach the cord to the vehicle when the top of the cargo contained within the cargo bed is spaced upwardly from the hooks provided on the vehicle around the cargo bed. When this occurs, it has been necessary to tie individual ropes such that one individual rope extends between each hook and the cord around the outer perimeter of the net.